5 ways temping could accelerate your career

As one of the best temp agencies in London, we know the demand for talented temps has never been higher, with many companies advertising for more short-term positions than permanent ones. But for many job hunters, the lack of commitment is a turn off.

You might think you’re making the smart choice to hold out for that permanent role, when in fact you may be turning down the chance to gain some essential experience, make some great contacts or even turn the temp gig into something more long-term.

Here are five ways that temping might just help you get ahead…

Get a lot of experience, fast

Many of us tend to go for ‘like for like’ roles when we’re changing jobs. It makes sense - it’s feels easier to convince an employer we’re capable of doing a job when we’ve already done it. But take a few temporary positions and you’ll get experience performing different types of tasks and responsibilities. And with a skill set to pick and choose from, you can tailor your CV to a number of different opportunities that you might not have had the confidence to apply for before.

Get to know yourself

Do you work better independently or in a team? A quiet office or a busy one? Do you thrive under pressure or do you like to take your time to focus on one project? There’s plenty we don’t know about what we’re good at until we try, and temping is a great way to find out by trying varying roles, industries and environments to see what fits. Even if a permanent position is the ultimate goal, temping can help you work out what position you want.

Make key connections

Networking can be useful and you’ll meet more people in a shorter amount of time than in to a long-term position. Introduce yourself to folk, make a good impression, even connect with colleagues on LinkedIn when it’s appropriate, and you could find yourself landing your ideal job much sooner than if you settle for a perm role just because it’s ‘secure’. Plus, constantly introducing yourself to a new team can help build your confidence, which is a huge asset to your career development.

Money and morale  

You might prefer the security of a permanent position and the feeling of being part of a consistent team, but periods of unemployment while you look for that role could not only leave you low on cash, they can really dent your self-confidence. A few short-term gigs can help keep both those things afloat. And many companies now commit to ongoing assignments, offering notice periods and giving access to same the same annual leave allowance and amenities as permanent staff.

It could turn into a full-time job

You might quite like it. They might quite like you. It just might turn out that the company decide there’s scope for a permanent role or that it had always been on the cards, but they wanted to try someone out before committing to a long-term contract. Some of the most interesting jobs aren’t available to others as employers prefer to have a temp in the role first and then decide to convert them to permanent, so if you’ve displayed the skills and attitude they’re after, then you could find yourself with first refusal on your dream job.